Three rising junior welterweights and one comebacking young veteran highlight the undercard of the NBC Sports Network Fight Night boxing series card on Friday evening, June 14, at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.
Topping the show is a 10-round heavyweight contest featuring fast-rising Bryant Jennings, of Philadelphia, PA, against powerful Andrey Fedosov, of Shuya, Russia.
A 12-round IBF light-heavyweight eliminator features Sergey Kovalev, of Chelyabinsk, Russia, against Cornelius White, of Houston, TX, The winner becomes the No. 1 challenger for the IBF crown, currently held by Bernard Hopkins, of Philadelphia, PA.
In a welterweight match, scheduled for 10 rounds, Bethlehem’s Ronald Cruz hopes to rebound from his first loss as a pro when he takes on rugged Ray Narh, of Ghana.
Two unbeaten undefeated lefties collide in the top junior welterweight prelim when Treysean Wiggins, of Newburgh, NY, goes against hometown favorite Jerome Rodriguez, of nearby Allentown, PA, in a six-round contest.
Wiggins, 23, has knocked out all three of his professional opponents, but has only been able to secure three fights since turning pro three years ago. He ended a 30-month layoff March 10 when he K0d Duane Hall, of Rochester, NY, in the second round of their fight in Albany, NY.
His biggest win came Sept. 25, 2010, when he blitzed Jason Sosa, of Camden, NJ, in the first round at Bally’s Atlantic City.
Rodriguez, 26, is 3-0-1, 1 K0. He has boxed four times in the 12 months since he turned pro, with his most recent fight coming March 15 when he earned a six-round decision over Rafael Montalvo, of St. Clair, PA, at the Valley Forge (PA) Casino.
The other six-round junior welterweight match pits a prospect against a young vet as Hasan Young, of Philadelphia, PA, goes against Ariel Duran, of Queens, NY.
Young, 22, is 2-1-1, 1 K0, but has been in tough matches. He boxed a four-round draw with Rodriguez on year ago at the Sands, having accepted the fight on 36 hours and losing five pounds in that time period. He also was stopped by unbeaten prospect Emanuel Colon, of La Vegas, Colombia, in one of the best action-packed preliminary fights of 2012.
Duran, a young vet at 26, is 7-4-1, 4 K0s, having ended a 19-month layoff on April 19 when he lost a six-round majority decision to Julio DeJesus, of Millville, NJ.
A pair of four-round fights open the card at 6.30pm.
Junior middleweight Alex Trujillo, of Easton, PA, and Anthony Watson, of Philadelphia, a pair of lefties, collide over four rounds in the pro debut for each man. Plus, heavyweighs Randy Easton (0-1-1), of Williamsport, PA, takes on Billy Marks (pro debut), of Allentown.
